Owing to two victories, Norbert Kiss strengthen himself atop the standings following the FIA European Truck Racing Championship’s visit to Circuit Zolder. Adam Lacko and Jochen Hahn claimed their first victories of 2021.
Kiss started the weekend on high, netting his fourth pole position of the season and converting it into a commanding, lights to flag victory. He then finished eighth in the second of Saturday’s races.
Came Sunday and it was the second pole for Kiss in as many days. However, the Hungarian was relegated to the back of the grid following a parc fermé infringement, with Hahn inheriting the pole.
This didn’t stop the two-time champion from putting together a memorable performance and charging through the grid to take the chequered flag in fourth.
The Hungarian signed off the weekend with a victory in Race 4. With 127 points to his name, he extended his advantage over his closest opponent from 3 to 14 points.
Following a strong weekend, 2017 titlist Lacko moved to second in the ranking and is now Kiss’ leading challenger. In Saturday’s Race 2, the Czech took his first victory of the year, and then added a pair of second places on Sunday to round out the successful outing.
Sascha Lenz started the weekend off on a high, finishing second in the opening race of the weekend. This turned out to be his only podium visit of the Belgian round. In the subsequent races, he finished sixth, ninth and fifth respectively.
Hahn experienced a weekend of mixed fortunes. Following a strong qualifying resulting in second on the grid, the six-time champion was running only behind Kiss for the majority of the opening race, only to receive two ten-second time penalties for exceeding the 160kph speed limit and slipping down to 12th place. In the second race of the day, he also finished outside of the points, in 11th.
Sunday meant a change of fortunes for the decorated German. Following Kiss’ penalty, he converted the inherited pole position into his first victory of the season. In the semi-reversed grid race, he crossed the line sixth, having started eighth.
Antonio Albacete had another solid weekend, highlighted by a pair of third places in the opening races on each of the days.
He remains fourth in the standings and with 79 points to his name lies 30 points down on third-placed Lenz and 16 points ahead of Hahn.
The FIA ETRC circus is now set to move to Le Mans’ Bugatti Circuit, whit the French round of the championship taking place in less than two weeks’ time. Only a week after the FIA ETRC crews will move south to Spain's Circuito del Jarama, with the season finale scheduled for mid-October and taking place at Misano Adriatico.
